> The whole meme that companies exist to maximize shareholder value is just that: a meme, and a recent one at that.
Nah, stakeholder capitalism is a way more recent idea than shareholder primacy.
Nah, stakeholder capitalism is a way more recent idea than shareholder primacy.
Prior to that, most businesses were owned and operated by the same people. Talk to any founder — especially familial legacy businesses - and you know they don’t run it purely to maximize “shareholder” value. Partly because it’s exceptionally hard to do without destroying the real company — the thing behind the spreadsheets.
For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.